Henry Gullett
James Fenton | |
---|---|
Member of the Australian Parliament for Henty | |
In office 14 November 1925 – 13 August 1940 | |
Preceded by | Frederick Francis |
Succeeded by | Arthur Coles |
Personal details | |
Born | Henry Somer Gullett 26 March 1878 (from 1931) |
Spouse |
Penny Frater (m. 1912) |
Relations | Jo Gullett (son) Penne Hackforth-Jones (granddaughter) Barbara Baynton (mother-in-law) Henry Gullett (uncle) Lucy Gullett (cousin) |
Occupation | Journalist |
Sir Henry Somer Gullett
Gullett grew up in country
Early life
Gullett was born on 26 March 1878 in Toolamba West or Harston, Victoria.[a] He was the son of Rose Mary (née Somer) and Charles William Gullett; his father was born in London and his mother in Victoria.[1] He grew up on his father's farm, a half-cleared selection of 320 acres (130 ha),[2] learning "milking, ploughing, harvesting and horsemanship even as he received his schooling".[1] He left school at the age of 12 following his father's death.[2]
Journalism, literary work and public service
Gullett was encouraged to pursue a career in journalism by his uncle
In 1908, Gullett moved to England and became a London correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and
World War I
After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Gullett received accreditation with the British and French militaries as an official war correspondent. He covered the
For the remainder of the war, Gullett was attached to various Australian units in the
Post-war career
Gullett was present at the
In 1919, despite his dislike of Hughes, Gullett accepted the prime minister's invitation to become the inaugural director of the proposed
Political career
Early years
Gullett began contemplating a political career towards the end of the war. Letters to his wife record his alignment with the Australian Labor Party (ALP), but concerns that "Labour people at home will be hard to swallow" and that "it will be hard to take sides against many good friends in the AIF who are uncompromising".[13] In November 1918, he wrote:
I should give a fortune to be out on the Labour ticket next elections in Australia. With a good propagandist on their side they will sweep H & Co into the sea. The present administration is a hopeless thing & is not improving.[10]
Gullett's eventual entry into politics came at the
Bruce lost his seat at the 1929 election and Latham was elected as the new leader of the Nationalists; Gullett became his deputy. Jack Lang remembered him as "the gad-fly who harassed the Scullin Government incessantly".[14] He was involved in the formation of the United Australia Party (UAP) in 1931, which saw former ALP minister Joseph Lyons succeed Latham as leader of the opposition. Latham in turn became deputy leader of the new party, succeeding Gullett as deputy opposition leader.[15]
Lyons government
Gullett was re-appointed Minister for Trade and Customs when the Lyons government took office in January 1932. He lobbied Lyons against including the Country Party in the ministry, predicting "they will prove filthy foes and will stab you all the way from the corner".[16] Later in 1932, Gullett and Stanley Bruce represented Australia at the British Empire Economic Conference in Ottawa, which attempted to establish Imperial Preference, a system of tariff concession within the British Empire. He suffered from poor health on his return and resigned from the ministry in January 1933.[17] In the same month he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George for his work at the Ottawa Conference.[1]
In October 1934, Gullett was re-appointed to the ministry as a minister without portfolio with responsibility for trade treaties.[1] In early 1935, he presented a draft trade treaty with Japan to cabinet.[18] He travelled to England with his wife later that year to attend the Silver Jubilee of King George V, and to discuss trade with representatives of Britain and the other Dominions.[19] In 1936, Gullett continued his work on the proposed trade deal with Japan, which was tentatively titled the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation. However, negotiations broke down and a trade war commenced, with Australia increasing duties on Japanese clothing and artworks and Japan doing likewise on Australian agricultural products.[20] Jay Pierrepont Moffat, the U.S. Consul in Sydney, observed in his diaries that Gullett "looked ill and tired" and was "constantly leaving his desk and taking some medicine at a cupboard in the corner". His health forced a second retirement from the ministry in March 1937. However, Moffat believed that his resignation was actually due to a disagreement on trade policy.[21]
Menzies Government
In April 1939, Gullett became
Personal life
On 2 October 1912, Gullett married Elizabeth Penelope "Penny" Frater, the daughter of the Australian writer Barbara Baynton. The couple had two children together.[1] Their son Jo Gullett also entered politics, serving as the member for Henty from 1946 to 1955. Their daughter, Susan, was the mother of the actress Penne Hackforth-Jones.[22]
Notes
- ^ Toolamba West according to the Australian Dictionary of Biography,[1] Harston according to Hazlehurst (2013).[2]
References
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
- ^ a b c d Hazlehurst 2013, p. 239.
- ^ a b Hazlehurst 2013, p. 240.
- ^ "Henry Somer GULLETT". The AIF Project. Australian Defence Force Academy. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Hazlehurst 2013, p. 241.
- ^ Hazlehurst 2013, p. 242.
- ^ Hazlehurst 2013, p. 243.
- ^ Hazlehurst 2013, p. 244.
- ^ Hazlehurst 2013, pp. 249–250.
- ^ a b Hazlehurst 2013, p. 248.
- ^ Hazlehurst 2013, p. 249.
- ^ a b Hazlehurst 2013, p. 251.
- ^ Hazlehurst 2013, p. 246.
- ^ a b Hazlehurst 2013, p. 252.
- ^ Hazlehurst 2013, p. 253.
- ^ Henderson, Anne (2011). Joseph Lyons: The People's Prime Minister. NewSouth. p. 289.
- ^ Henderson 2011, p. 322.
- ^ Henderson 2011, p. 362.
- ^ Henderson 2011, p. 363.
- ^ Henderson 2011, pp. 373–374.
- ^ Henderson 2011, p. 374.
- The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 21 August 1949. p. 9. Retrieved 22 May 2011 – via National Library of Australia.
Sources
- Hazlehurst, Cameron (2013). Ten Journeys to Cameron's Farm: An Australian Tragedy. ANU Press. ISBN 9781925021011.
- Kerby, Martin (2017). With Both Pen and Sword: The Life of Sir Henry (Harry) Gullett, 1878–1940 (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Southern Queensland.